Friday, March 2, 2018

I grew up in South Africa, so snow will never not be a novelty for me! As soon as it starts I get excitable like a little kid. Earlier this week, George from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust kindly braved the flurries to capture snaps of me in this cute combo!

I have been desperate for this dress to come out since I saw it at the SS18 preview event last year. The Alice gingham dress from Studio 8 London is a beautifully cut wrap dress with a full skirt and thick sash tie to define your waist. The wrap over fits me really well - no gaping or boob popping out. I love how big and bold the check is. It makes it a stand out piece. It has three quarter sleeves, which means it's gonna work right through Spring, and on those cooler summer days. Since getting ill over Christmas I have gone down to a size 22 again, and this 22 fit well. A little snug on the sleeves, but that's always to be expected for me (because I have big arms) but I think maybe with a little more stretch that would have been more comfortable. Otherwise, it's perfect. And I think will be really comfortable for work.

I decided to pair this with my new Marks and Spencer faux leather jacket. I wanted to give it a bit of a Shangri La's Leader of the Pack vibe - like I'm a good girl in the 60s, about to get on the back of her boyfriend's motorbike. Did I nail it? I think I nailed it!

I was really excited to see M&S were bringing out a Curve collection, as there are frequently pieces in their core collection I love but that just don't fit me. I am totally in love with this biker jacket - it's faux leather and feels all soft and buttery. I initially asked for a size 22, but exchanged it for a 20 as I want it to be really fitted and it can still zip up but I am not going to zip it very often to be honest.

Sadly, other than a couple of other stand out pieces there really was nothing else I fancied. The collection felt conservative and safe - and that's just not a good place for plus size fashion anymore. The landscape has changed and this collection feels more in keeping with where plus fashion was 15 years ago. Defences that this is a collection aimed at older women to fly with me either. Firstly, a lot of the stuff M&S does these days isn't as staid as this, and secondly - my mum who is now 60 and plus size wouldn't be after most of those pieces. In all fairness this is a first stab at a proper plus collection for them, and I am hoping that the more fashion forward pieces do well and this shows M&S that plus ladies want more than over sized tunics and dowdy prints. I also hope that they keep trying new things to see what works, and really speak to their customers to find out what they want in their wardrobes. But the jacket rocks - I do recommend!

I am loving this winter wonderland, and if the snow continues I will definitely be taking more pics in it this weekend (even if it is a bit incongruous with Spring posts - don't care!). What do you think of this look? The dress? The new M&S Curve collection? Let me know!

10 comments

Firstly, you are absolutely stunning! Your happiness is just bursting out of this photo — I love it so much. The dress is gorgeous and so perfect for you, it suits you so much, and your hair?!?!?! You are so damn gorgeous, girl!!!!!

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I'm Hayley, an award winning plus size blogger and a modern woman with a vintage heart. I'm a Londoner, a reader, a thinker and a dreamer. And most of the time I have more dresses than sense...
email: curvesncurlsuk@gmail.com